Bug Squad

There's good news and not-so-good news about the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count in California. Last December the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation released preliminary figures. Now they've announced the final tally: almost 272,000 monarchs (Danaus plexippus).

You could say that noted entomologist/author Stephen Buchmann has a thing for buds, bees, beetles and butterflies...buds that burst into flowers, and bugs that burst into pollinators.

Bee my valentine. There's something about a honey bee foraging on a flowering quince that makes you long for Valentine's Day and the end of winter. Flowering quince (Chaenomeles sp.) is one of the first flowers of the year to bloom. And bloom it does, in between the rain drops and rays of sunshine.

If you go looking for a bumble bee, you might find a butterfly. And vice versa. The UC Davis Arboretum last Saturday (Feb. 6), was just starting to "get its spring on.

Are you ready for a Super Day of Science? The University of California, Davis is preparing for its fifth annual Biodiversity Museum Day. Set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, it's a campuswide open house showcasing 11 specialized research and teaching collections.